Kingdom Days - Ian Leroy
by KingdomDays
Summary: When Princess Emma is forced to leave her kingdom after a siege on her castle, she somehow ends up betrothed to the King of a neighboring country. Hunted by assassins and with only 30 days to decide if she would marry him, Emma enters an old windmill on a whim one day and what (or more accurately, who) she discovers inside changes everything.


**A\N: Based on the Ian path of the Kingdom Days Sim Date game by Pacthesis. I own nothing.**

 **(changed Rose's name to Emma, because I know a Rose in real life and I don't want them mixing in my head.)**

* * *

Ever since I could remember, I was living in this orphanage. The place was quiet and kind of peaceful, but when you spend as much time there as I have, the silence becomes deafening. I watched the other kids get adopted day after day, but no one ever came for me.

One day, after another one of my friends waved goodbye to this lonely place, I went to sit down by the old rusted fence, where I liked to spend most of my time, gazing at what lied beyond it. Suddenly, a ball flew right over it and dropped next to me.

"Um, that's my ball. May I please have it back?" said a boy from the other side. I could tell by his pointy ears he was an elf, with amazingly purple yes. I handed him his ball without saying a word. "Thanks. My name is Lewis. What's yours?" he asked politely.

"I don't have one. They said that my mommy and daddy have to give me one" I responded with a courteous smile. His face seemed sad for a moment, like he didn't know what to say. After a small pause, he smiled a little again and asked if I wanted to play with him. I shook my head negatively. "They told me that I can't leave until my mommy and daddy get here."

"Oh…" He looked at the building behind me, then back at my face. I kept up the smile, because I had been told many times that I have to make a good first impression and always be nice and smile a lot when I meet new people.

Then we heard a voice shouting from behind him. "Lewis? Where are you?"

"I… have to go now" he said, but didn't move a muscle.

My smile faded. I didn't want him to leave.

"Lewis!" the voice called again.

I regained my composure and smiled again. "It was nice talking to you, Lewis. I hope we meet again."

The voice called one more time, and he slowly turned around and followed it. "I'll come back," he said, turning his head toward me one last time, and then ran to the person calling him.

* * *

~O~

A few more days passed by, and my dream of finding a family still went unfulfilled. Then, one morning, when I was sitting alone by the fence again, one of the caretakers approached me. "Someone's here to see you" she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. She led me inside where a man and a woman were waiting nervously.

The woman kneeled down to my eye level and her eyes gazed deeply in to mine. "Do you know who we are?" she asked. I shook my head negatively.

"My name is Sakka, and this is my wife, Lilla," said the man, also kneeling. "We … we are your parents."

"We thought we've lost you forever," the woman added, tearing up. "But now we've come to take you home."

My eyes also started to fill with tears, and I could barely see their faces anymore. I leaped in to their open arms, and for the first time felt the loving embrace of a parent.

After my parents signed a bit of paperwork, we were free to leave. I watched with wide eyes as the iron gates opened up before me, and I stepped outside. A big carriage was waiting for us not too far. The coachman nodded and touched his hat in a gesture of respect. And next to him was sitting the boy with the ball, Lewis.

When he saw me, his face stretched in to a wide smile. He jumped down and opened the carriage door. "Your Highnesses," he said and bowed before us. It turned out my parents, Lilla and Sakka Urwin, were the King and Queen of the Lunar Kingdom, and now suddenly I was a Princess. And, as luck would have it, Lewis was a servant to the royal family, and it was only thanks to him that the king and queen were able to find me. He later became my personal servant, and we grew very close. For a while I did get to live happily, but not ever after. After a few years a terrible war broke out. Many kingdoms picked up their weapons and started attacking one another out of fear, until one day what _I_ feared most happened…

* * *

~O~

I was making my way to my room from the library one day, when I heard groans and clinking swords outside.

Then someone called out to me. "Milady! M-Milady, where are you?!"

I recognized the voice instantly. "I'm over here Lewis!"

"Hurry, we need to get out of here, now! Cesathis's soldiers have entered the castle!" he blurted out, looking around nervously.

"But what about my parents… a-and everybody else?! You can't leave all of them behind!" I retorted.

"Th-they'll be fine! Please…! Milady, we have to go now!" Lewis said in an unusual tone that didn't stand for objections. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the fireplace, pushing some button on its side. It turned in to a stairwell, which seemed to lead underground.

"Aah! L-let go of me…! No, Lewis!" I shouted, trying to pull away, but his grip was strangely firm around my wrist.

He was usually a lot more gentle with me. In fact, I thought he was a little wimpy. But I've never seen him this serious before. I knew he didn't like dark creepy places, yet he was now leading me down a completely dark tunnel without a trace of fright. I should really give him more credit from now on. After what seemed like hours, the tunnel came to an end. We climbed another set of stairs and he pushed on a wooden lid.

"It's clear. We should hurry," he said and helped me climb out of the hole. I looked around and realized we were now in the woods, near the castle, where my father went hunting sometimes. It was night, and I could see the smoke and fire coming from the castle.

I heard more screams and the continuing sounds of battle. "Lewis, we have to go back!" I said, taking a few steps toward my home.

"No, Milady!" he exclaimed, getting a hold of me again. "There is nothing we can do about it now. If we went back, you'd just end up captured!"

"But what about everyone else!? They'll be captured too, won't they?"

"I'm sure they'll be ok. There are a few other hidden passages throughout the castle. Your parents and some servants also know about them. Just believe in them. They will manage on their own. My job is to protect you, so I cannot allow you to return yet. It is simply too dangerous."

I knew what he was saying was true. I diverted my gaze to the palace in the distance. What could I, one princess, do to help at this point? They weren't after me alone, they wanted the whole royal family. I felt something warm cover my shoulders. I looked at it, and it turned out to be the coat of Lewis's suit. "Here you go, Milady. It's pretty cold out here. We should get moving before they've realized we were missing." He had a point. I sighed deeply and followed him through the dark leafless forest, reluctantly leaving behind all that I loved.

* * *

~O~

We wandered around in the darkness for so long, I lost track of time. The fall isn't the best season to be wandering around in the woods. Me and Lewis were both covered in mud, it was cold and cloudy, and to top it off, the bare branches of the trees looked really creepy.

"Are you alright? We can take a short break if you're tired," said Lewis after a while.

"I'm ok. But where are we going to go now, Lewis? We've been running around like this forever! We don't even know where we are!"

"I'm sorry, Milady. All I wanted to do was protect you, but it looks like I've failed," Lewis said with sad notes in his voice.

"What do you mean, 'failed'!? We're both alive, aren't we?" I said, trying to cheer him up.

"Um.. y-yes, of course. You're right" he said, cracking a small smile. "Huh? Is it just my eyes, or do I see something in the distance?" He stopped, diverting his gaze east.

I also looked in that direction and saw smoke and outlines of houses. "No, I see it too! It looks like a village! Ah! There's a castle there too!"

"A castle! That's it! I'm sure the people there will help us when we tell then you're royalty. Hurry, Milady! Let's go!"

We rushed toward the palace with relieve in our hearts. To tell the truth, I was really tired. I felt like I'd pass out any minute, but I didn't want Lewis to worry about me. He does that too much already.

"Well, here we are. I suppose all I can do now is cross my fingers and give this door a knock," Lewis said when we arrived at the castle gates and knocked. For a minute nothing happened.

Then we heard a grouchy voice from the inside. "Do you have any idea what time it is? If it's not important, come back in the morning!"

"E-excuse me! I apologize for bothering you this late at night, but this is very important!" Lewis yelled through the door.

"Fine then, state your name and business," the voice from inside demanded.

"My name is Lewis Ashton, and I'm here with the Princess of the Lunar Kingdom. Our castle was attacked and we were forced to flee. We've been wandering around for hours and we have no destination or shelter. I would be grateful if you were so kind as to let us stay here."

A long pause set in. Lewis and I exchanged glances, not sure what to do. "U-um, hello? Are you still there?" he asked from our end.

"I'm thinking, don't rush me. If you're so impatient then just come in for now," the voice called.

"Yes, of course! Thank you very much!" Lewis exclaimed. He pushed open the big wooden doors, and we entered a huge entrance hall. There was nobody in sight.

"Where did the person behind the door go?" I asked quietly, but got no answer.

"H-hello?" Lewis tried to say, but his words echoed in the emptiness.

"It looks to me like the whole castle is asleep," I said to him.

"Then who let us in?" my servant questioned. "I think I see a light over there. Come on," he said, leading me to another set of doors at the bottom of the hall. Once we got in, we saw it was the throne room. "Hello? Is anybody in here? We were told to come in, but-" Lewis started to say, but was interrupted by the same grouchy voice from before.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Can't you wait for one second?" Just then, out of nowhere, a young man about our age walked in. "Just what I need. More useless people asking me for help," he said, sitting on his throne. My eyes narrowed. I really don't like this guy.

"Oh…! Sorry, but I didn't ask you before, but what is your name, sir?" asked Lewis, still trying to be polite to this jerk.

"Joseph Knight. And address me as 'your Majesty' instead of sir from now on." Man, was this guy full of himself. I have to admit though, I didn't expect that. What kind of king answers his own door and prowls his own palace in the middle of the night?

Lewis was caught off guard too. "Y-y-your Majesty?!" he stuttered. "Ah! Wait, I've heard your name before! You're the youngest king in this country! So then this must be the Hepcatsis Kingdom, right?"

"Correct. And if I remember clearly, you said that you two are from the Lunar Kingdom?" the king inquired coldly. "Um, y-yes, your Majesty. The Lunar kingdom was attacked by Cesathis," Lewis answered right away.

"Sakka Urwin is your king, isn't he? Where is he now?" King Joseph asked, and his words made me feel like I'd been punched in the gut.

"I… I don't know" said Lewis with a sad expression. "But I'm sure he escaped safely like his daughter," he added reassuringly, looking my way. The king went silent again. "Um, your Majesty? ..." Lewis started expectantly.

"I've reached my decision" Joseph declared. "Please escort yourselves out of this kingdom and never return. I don't want to see your faces ever again."

"Wh-what!? Y-your Majesty, why? P-please…! We have nowhere else to go!" Lewis pleaded. It was clear to me why. He didn't want to risk his pretty little head.

"I've just decided that I don't like you two. There are no benefits for me, if I let you stay," King Joseph said indifferently. For the short time I've known this guy, I liked him less and less. Now he just added selfish and shallow to his list of traits. I could never imagine my father turning away people, royalty or not, that came pleading for his help. "The only useful thing I could gain from the Lunar kingdom are relations with the royalty anyway. Now please, go away, I'm tired and I don't want to deal with this anymore," the king added and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lewis exclaimed suddenly. "She'll… marry you." My jaw dropped. Did my best friend really just sell me out to this douchebag!? The king stopped in his tracks. "King Joseph, will you take the princess's hand in marriage?" my friend added.

"L-Lewis! What are you doing!? That's crazy! You're not serious, are-"

"Fine," Joseph cut me off.

"Hold on a second! I never said I would marry you! You can't do this!" I tried to protest.

"I can and I will. If you disagree, then leave," Joseph said, cutting me off again. This guy just made my blood boil!

"Fine! Let's get out of here, Lewis! We'll find another place to stay." I turned to leave, but Lewis blocked my way.

"Milady, I'm sorry. The outside parts of this kingdom are too dangerous," he said in a calm, but insisting voice. "Don't forget Cesathis soldiers will be looking for you. Coming here was already a miracle." I didn't have an answer for that, so I looked away and kept silent.

"The wedding will take place a month from now. Like I said, if you don't want to go through with this, then you and your elf servant must leave," king Joseph said from behind me. I didn't give out any kind of response. I can't condemn myself to a loveless marriage with a guy like that, can I? "Since the Princess seems to be still making up her mind, you two can stay at the empty houses on the west part of the village. We're done now, right? Good night," the king said and just left.

* * *

~O~

Me and Lewis left the castle and found the houses the king mentioned without much of a trouble.

"Wow. This house is actually pretty nice. Wasn't it nice of the king to let us stay in it?" he said when we entered the first one.

It's true the house wasn't bad. It had everything I could need. I even found some money in one of the drawers. I wasn't sure it was ok to take it, but Joseph did say no one lived inside. But the nice house didn't make up for the fact that I had to marry someone like him. How could Lewis just betroth me to him like that!?

"…. Milady, please don't look at me like that. I only did all of that to protect you," he said.

"I can look at you however I want!" I snapped "How is marrying him supposed to protect me!?"

His face saddened again. "You have every right to be angry," he said with a sigh. "Forgive me. I didn't know what else I could have said to convince him into letting us stay here. He did say the only thing he could gain were relations with the royals… It's getting late and you've been through a lot today. I think it's about time for us to get some rest. I'll be in the house next door so don't worry. Sweet dreams, Milady," he said and exited, leaving me alone.

I had so many emotions twirling inside me. Regret for leaving my family, fear of what's going to happen, defiance for being offered to Joseph like some item on an auction, anger at Lewis for doing that, helplessness to change anything and not to mention fatigue. I was so worn out, the minute I sat down on the bed I fell backwards and fell asleep with my dirty clothes still on.

I was awoken the next morning by a loud knock. "Come in!" I said, realizing I'm still wearing my clothes from yesterday, and that I've left some dirt stains on the bed sheets.

"Good morning, Milady. Did you sleep well?" asked Lewis, stepping inside.

I noticed he has already changed in clean attire. "Huh? Your outfit… you already got new clothes?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes!" he replied with a smile. "I ran into some very good people this morning. I was even able to get you a new dress!" he added showing me a pink dress.

I took it in my hands and checked it out. "Ew. Lewis, I don't mean to be ungrateful, but… it's pink. And why did you get me a dress? I'm not living in a castle anymore. Can't I just wear pants or something?"

"P-pink?! This isn't pink! It's fuchsia!" he objected. "And of course you can't wear pants! You're still a princess! You must dress appropriately!"

I sighed. "Fine. But aren't pink and fuchsia pretty much the same thing?"

"It doesn't matter, Milady. I think that this color will look nice on you. Now hurry up and get dressed! We should go back to the castle to pay King Joseph a visit."

"What!? No way! Why would I ever want to see that jerk again?" I exclaimed discontentedly.

"You're going to marry him, aren't you?" said Lewis. "You should at least try to get to know him a little better. Maybe he was just in a bad mood yesterday. Just give him a chance."

"Bad mood, yeah right," I mumbled to myself. In how bad of a mood do you have to be to refuse someone your help, if you're usually a decent guy?! But what choice do I have? "Okay, okay! Just get out of here so I can change already!"

"That's the spirit, Milady! I'll go on ahead, actually. We'll meet up at the castle, okay?" he said cheerfully and walked out.

I sighed again, irritated of how happy he was about this. I changed into the pink dress and stepped outside. The palace wasn't far, but I had to go by a part of the village. When I first saw this place, I thought every town would look a bit gloomy at night, but now it seems just as depressing. Maybe it was from the weather, but I just felt unwelcome here. The woods we arrived from were the same way they were at night – scary. I passed by an old windmill that looked abandoned. I stopped and looked at it. It felt as if I was being watched. I sensed chills running down my spine and quickly continued my path. I also passed an old blacksmith's that looked dusty, but the guy inside seemed to be doing normal things, even if he was surrounded by cobwebs. Maybe he just wasn't good at cleaning?

I arrived at the palace and walked right in. Lewis was waiting for me in the throne room. I noticed his face was worried. "Hey, Lewis. Is something wrong?" I asked, approaching him.

"Ah, Milady! It's King Joseph… he… he's gone!" he exclaimed.

"Gone? So... is he... dead?" I said, maybe a little hopefully.

"Noooo! Don't tell me that you were secretly hoping for that to happen!" Lewis exclaimed. Well, to be honest, no. Even if he was a douche, I wouldn't wish for anyone's death. Although, that _would_ solve all my problems, but I didn't say it to Lewis. "Here, I found this on his throne…" he said, handing me a piece of paper. It said:

 ** _'I went to take care of some business. I'll be back before the wedding._**

 ** _Joseph Knight'_**

I looked back at Lewis and saw he was still worried. "So what?" I said. "He'll be back. It's not like he's gone forever." _Unfortunately,_ I added to myself.

"B-but... now you can't get to know him!" said Lewis and sighed. "I guess now the only thing we can do is wait for him to come back."

"Whatever" I said, again irritated by his behavior. "I've had enough of this. I'm going for a walk," I stated and walked out.

"A-ah! Please be careful, Milady!" Lewis called after me, but I just continued walking.

* * *

~oOo~

I got out of that castle and continued walking forward, not sure where I was going. Right in front of me was a beautiful fountain, so I went there and sat on the edge. The sun was barely shining behind the clouds, and my surroundings were very depressing. This whole village was just so gloomy! A cloud moved in the sky and the sun blinded me for a second. I raised my hand to cover my eyes, and my stare fixed on the old windmill. I felt somehow drawn to it. I've always liked mysteries. I don't know why, maybe it was the size of the structure, but I felt like it would be a safe place. Like it could shield me from this disheartening village and the ghostly shadows of the trees.

I slowly approached and opened the door. It gave a small creek and revealed a big stairway. Strange, the mill looked abandoned from the outside, but I could swear I heard movement. Probably just the gears turning. Who would be in an old abandoned windmill early in the morning? I suddenly remembered how if anyone was here with me right now (especially Lewis), they would tell me to go back, that it could be dangerous, that a princess should allow someone else to go first and make sure it was safe. Whatever doubts I had until now were replaced with irritation, and I continued climbing the stairs. When I reached the top though, there was no one there. Just a bunch of barrels and some big gears.

I went to the window and looked out. I did feel safer here. It was like I was watching a forest in a picture, something unreal and cold, but distant. I could hear clearly the howling of the wind, but in here I felt it couldn't reach me. The only thing that would make this scene perfect would be… if I took off my shoes. Yeah, I ran through a dark forest in heels last night. 90% of the mud on me came from tripping in them too much. It's a good thing I remembered to clean them up a bit before I left the house, so they were dirt free, but were also my only pair and… they had stilettos. I wasn't happy about that, so I decided I'd re-design them a little. I put the heel on the giant gear and waited for it to turn and snap it off. Now I had a slipper! I did the same with the other shoe and happy with my accomplishment sat down by the barrels.

"I wish I could fix any problem this easily," I said to myself out loud. "I'll get Lewis for doing this to me!" I added, clenching my fist and getting angry again. "I can't believe my best friend sold me out like this! I'm gonna let a bird in his room, or something!" I went silent to think over my revenge plans, when something odd caught my attention. The sunbeams that were coming in from the window were revealing a weird shadow just 2-3 meters away. The angle showed that there was someone hiding behind the pile of barrels.

The silhouette was strangely deformed, but too big to be an animal. It did look suspicious, but then again, this person had plenty of time to do something to me, but didn't. I thought it's probably a kid playing hide and seek, or something. "Maybe I'll just let a rat lose in his room… that ought to teach him… what do you think?" I said. For a moment the shadow didn't move. "What's the matter? I won't hurt you, or anything. You can come out." No response again. "I know you're there, I can see your shadow," I added. This seemed to give better results. The silhouette moved around a bit, then the person stood up. And boy, was I wrong.

This definitely wasn't a kid. The guy in front of me was probably older than me, but not by much. He had a strange spiked…armor thing on his left shoulder and gassy green eyes that, to be honest, looked intimidating. That is, until I got to the ears. He had ears just like an honest to goodness cat! I absolutely **love** cats! I got up and stepped forward.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

I wasn't paying attention. "Can I pleeeease touch them?" I pleaded, already reaching out to his head.

"Hey! What're you doing!?" he tried to say and stepped back, but I reached both my hands and squished his ears lightly. They were so soft! :3

"Cut that out!" he demanded, retreating further and further back, but I pressed on, until he tripped in something and we both fell down, hitting our heads in the wall.

"Ouch," I said rubbing my sore spot. "Are you ok? I'm sorry," I added, helping him get in a sitting position.

"What a weird girl," he mumbled under his nose.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!" I repeated. "I just really like cats. I couldn't help myself… can I touch them again?" I asked hopefully and even raised my hand a bit.

"… No," he cut me off, grabbing my wrist firmly. "Hey, aren't you that one princess that was supposed to marry the king?" he asked out of nowhere.

"I'm…. still thinking about it. But how did you know?" I asked, as he let go of my hand.

"I just heard some things. That's all," he said, looking away. "You came here from another kingdom, right? So where are you from?"

What was with his sudden interest? "I'm from the Lunar Kingdom," I replied.

He shot another question. "Wasn't that kingdom attacked?" I nodded. "Oh… so that's why you came here," he said in an understanding tone.

"How did you know we were attacked? It happened just last night," I asked, getting suspicious.

"I… just heard some things… here and there…" he said, looking away again. Why did I get the feeling he was hiding something from me?

"You sure hear a lot of things," I said. "So, are you a cat or something?" I asked eyeing his ears again.

"No, I'm a wolf," he said, tracing my stare and covering them with his hands. "Have you never seen one?" I shook my head negatively. "It's ok. You're not the first one to ask me that," he sighed. "But in the future, try to restrain yourself from invading my personal space, will you?" he added putting his hands down.

"I'm sorry," I repeated. "Tell me then, what's your name?" I asked, trying to make up for bothering him earlier.

"It's Ian. Ian Leroy. Hey, do I have to call you 'your highness' and stuff? I would rather call you by your name, but…"

"Sure, I don't mind. My name is Emma," I told him with a smile.

"Huh, that's a weird thing to call your kid. Well, thanks anyway. I find it a lot easier and convenient to call people by their names," he said.

That kind of offended me, although I knew he didn't mean it to. After all, that was the name mother and father chose for me when they took me from the orphanage. "I think Ian is a funny name too," I told him.

"Really? I think it's pretty average. Well, I guess my mom's to blame, since she's the one who gave it to me," he replied. That's right. All parents give names to their children. I mean, it's not like I don't know that, it's just when my parents gave me my name, it felt like something special, a present just for me. Most people take their names for granted, they never think of it as a gift. It surprised me in a nice way that Ian did. "What are you smiling about?" he asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Oh, nothing. I guess I just spaced out. Are you from around here? Your clothes are weird." Just when he was about to answer me, his ears twitched in the cutest way possible, and he suddenly got up and went to the window. "Hey, is that one elf kid with you?" he asked, looking outside.

"What elf kid?" I said, getting up and going to him.

"The one with the funny brown hair and piercing," he said, pointing to Lewis, who was going around, apparently looking for me.

"Milady! Please, princess, I know you're angry with me, but please come out!" he called.

I turned around angrily. "Yeah, that's Lewis. I know him, he's my servant."

"I thought so. I haven't seen him around these parts either," said Ian. "… I think you should go with the rat," he added suddenly. Why did he always say things like that out of nowhere?

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "This Lewis guy, you want to get back at him for something, right? But I doubt you can actually catch a bird. So if I were you, I'd go with the rat," Ian said simply. I looked at him, surprised that he remembered all that. "He seems kinda wimpy anyway, so I guess even a cockroach would do the job," he added.

"Hey! He is NOT wimpy! You haven't even met him, so don't be this quick to judge!" I snapped angrily.

"Okay, okay, already! I thought you were mad at him, not me!" he stepped back, getting defensive. "You're right, though. I don't know him. But you said a bird or a rat in his room would scare him, so I just thought he wasn't the bravest guy around," he added.

I looked at the floor. I was still angry at Lewis for selling me out, but I haven't forgotten how he helped me escape from the soldiers, and that thanks to him I know who I am and who my parents are. "Do you even know what 'brave' means?" I started. "Does not being afraid of anything make you brave? If I'm not afraid of spiders and I saw one without screaming, does that mean I'm brave? Yeah, maybe Lewis isn't big and tough all the time, but when it counts he's got more courage than anyone I've met. When the soldiers invaded my kingdom and stormed the castle, Lewis was the one that got me out. He kept a cool head and rational thinking, where I just panicked." My vision was starting to feel blurry as I remembered my burning home in the distance. I went back to the barrels and sat down, enveloped in my bitter thoughts.

Ian approached slowly and sat beside me. "Must've been rough," he said after a long pause.

"Yeah" I muttered.

"Do you think your kingdom survived the invasion?"

"I don't know. I guess all I can do is hope..." I said in a sad tone and sank back in my thoughts. The more I reflected on it though, the more worried I got. I wondered how my mother and father were doing, how many guards were injured (or worse) for our sakes and just why was it that all I could do about it was hide?

"Hey. Close your eyes and hold out your hand," said Ian unexpectedly, bringing me back to reality.

"Why?"

"Just do it." I shrugged and did what he said. "Okay, are they closed? Here, this is yours then." I opened my eyes to find a tea-bag in my hand. I looked over at Ian, astounded. "I'm not good at cheering people up, but they say that drinking tea calms the nerves, or something. I'm not much of a tea lover, so you can have this," he said, looking away. I didn't see that coming. That was so nice of him.

"Thank you." I smiled. "Wait, if you don't like tea, why do you have a tea bag with you?"

"Well, I don't really like how it tastes, but it's not bad to have once in a while, I guess. It's been a long time since I've had this stuff, though," he replied.

We were interrupted by Lewis's loud voice and the creek of the door downstairs, "Milady? Are you in there?"

Ian's face instantly stiffened and his ears perked up.

"What's the matter?" I asked "It's just Lewis."

"Don't let him know I'm in here," he said in a very serious tone and quickly hid behind the barrels.

"Milady? I-I'm coming up!" I heard Lewis going up the stairs. I didn't know what to do. Why didn't Ian want to be found here? Come to think of it, he didn't want **me** to find him either. "Milady?" called Lewis, as his head popped out from the staircase. "What are you doing in here all by yourself?" he asked, coming up. "How did you find me?" I said to avoid the question. "Um, some villagers saw you going in. What interest could you possibly have in this old windmill?"

I wondered just how much of what happened to me today I should tell him. "I… think it's kind of… cozy in here. And I like the view," I said, pointing to the window.

"Oh. As you say. I've been looking for you for a while. I went to the Bazaar and bought some food. It's well past noon now, would you like to come back with me to the house and have lunch?"

Now that he mentioned it, I hadn't eaten for over a day. I put my hand over my stomach and realized I was still holding Ian's tea. I should get Lewis out of here. "Sure. But on one condition."

"Anything you say, Milady."

"I want to have some tea," I said, squeezing my present lightly.

"O-of course! I happened to have some right here. I shall prepare one as soon as we get back," Lewis said with a smile. I smiled too.

"Let's go then," I said heading toward the stairs.

"Milady? Can you do me a favor?" Lewis asked when we reached the door.

"What is it?"

"Please try not to come here too often. I heard rumors down at the Bazaar. Apparently, some shadowy character's been hovering around here. The villagers think he might be dangerous. So please, be careful."

"Really?" I said more to myself than to him, as I looked to the top of the stairs. Was Ian this 'shadowy character'? It would explain why he doesn't want to be found out. But if so, then the villagers think he's dangerous? He didn't seem all that bad to me. At least he tired to be nice and those ears didn't really work well for the threatening persona. But then I remembered the intimidating look he gave me when I first saw him. Could he really be…

"Milady?" Lewis called to me, already on the outside.

"I'm coming," I said, following him.


End file.
